The 1979 Sandinista Revolution, which toppled the brutal dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza Debayle, launched Nicaragua into international attention. The U.S.-backed Contra counter-revolutionary war that ensued in the eighties left the country in ruins and partly led to the Sandinista government to call for elections to cease the hostilities. Since the politically tumultuous 1970s and 1980s, lifehas not been easy in Nicaragua. Due to the misguided neoliberal economic agreements signed with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), not to mention the imminent threat of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), a majority of Nicaraguans find themselves without work, health care, education or other basic social services. Also, some regions of Nicaragua have been devastated in recent years by natural disasters, famine, and a severe recession in the global coffee industry that has hit Nicaraguan campesinos especially hard. Despite the hardships they face, ordinary Nicaraguans have not given up hope and are resisting the neoliberal economic programs imposed upon them, offering alternative models centered on peoples needs, not on profits for the few.
In this tour, participants will have the opportunity to live and work with Nicaraguan campesinos who have been in the forefront of the growing Fair Trade movement, which has allowed them to receive enough money for their crops to support themselves and their families. You will meet with women maquiladora workers and trade unionists who have fought for equality in the factories and struggled to organize unions in Managua's harsh sweatshop zones. You will hear the voices of members of civil society that were silenced during the negotiations of the Central American Free Trade Agreement and will learn about the popular resistance against its ratification in the Nicaraguan congress. You will meet with students, environmentalists, and human rights activists organizing for a more just and equitable society. Now more than ever it is important that the international community understands the failure of the neoliberal economic policies in Nicaragua, its negative effects on ordinary people, and how developed nations like the U.S. are complicit.
Note: The activities of this trip could be physically straining. If you have any health concerns, please contact the program coordinator.
Program Highlights:
- Visit coffee cooperatives and projects of sustainable development in Nicaragua's agricultural North.
- Live and work for four days with family members of CECOCAFEN, a fair trade coffee cooperative in Matagalpa.
- Learn what life is like for non-fair trade coffee farmers and laborers.
- Learn about the history of cooperatives and how they are organized.
- Visit other groups in the community, such as the barrios of hacienda laborers
- Learn to cook typical foods.
- Visit the beautiful colonial town of Granada and the Masaya volcano
- Meet with maquiladora workers from Managua's infamous "Free Trade" Factory Zones.
- Learn about the popular resistance against the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and the threats it represents for the people and the environment.
- Meet with indigenous people, fighting for indigenous and land rights.
- Meet with students, environmentalists and human rights activists working towards social justice.
- Learn about the struggle against water privatization
- Meet with members of the official FSLN Sandinista party.
- Meet with members of the Sandinista Trade Union movement and learn about how you can become involved in cross-border labor solidarity.
- Read a sample itinerary -- Note: this is a tentative itinerary and is subject to change.
Cost: $1200
Price Includes:
- Housing and three meals per day with the families in Matagalpa.
- In Managua: double-room accommodations ($200 extra for single room); two meals per day; transportation to and from all programmed activities; a qualified bilingual trip leader; all program activities; and reading materials.
- International airfare, lunches, airport departure taxes, tips, and personal expenses are NOT included.
- Participants will arrive and depart from the Managua airport. Please bear in mind that there will be two airport pick-ups on July 12, one at noon and the other one at 5pm. Participants can leave anytime on June 15th. Schedule your flight accordingly.
How to Register:
Our tours fill up quickly! To reserve a spot send your application and a non-refundable $200 deposit, unless Global Exchange has to cancel the tour. The final payment is due one month before departure. Payments by Mastercard or Visa are welcome.This trip will be as diverse as possible in terms of race, age and life experiences. We strongly urge people of color to apply. In some cases, a limited number of partial scholarships are available for low-income applicants.
Make your reservation online now!
Contact Cristina with any questions about this trip,
or call toll-free
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